Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2440 for Friday August 2nd, 2024
  
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2440 with a release date of Friday, August 2nd, 2024 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. The Bouvet Island 3YØK team negotiates for a transport vessel. Mechanical Key Week gets underway for CW operators -- and long-hidden artifacts of a college radio club come to light.  All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2440 comes your way right now.

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BILLBOARD CART

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BOUVET ISLAND 3YØK DXPEDITION IN TALKS FOR TRANSPORT VESSEL

NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week is the Bouvet Island DXpedition, 3YØK, which is making progress in getting back on track for 2026. Jason Daniels VK2LAW has those details.

JASON: The 3YØK Bouvet Island Dxpedition, which suspended its acceptance of donations in April while organisers reassessed the trip's financial picture, has plans to go forward with a $1.6 million budget in 2026. According to the DXpedition website, negotiations are under way for a contract for a large transport vessel. The team says it already has received all the helicopter permits necessary from the Norwegian Polar Institute. The DXpedition's cost is expected to be shared with [quote] "a small private group," [endquote] according to organisers.

The website describes the Dxpedition as a "large-scale operation with 20 to 24 operators," but said the team still needs between 4 and 6 additional amateurs for CW/SSB operation. The three-week trip to the remote island is to be fully financed upfront but Bouvet's planners hope to restart their fundraising campaign soon, seeking donations from individuals and clubs as a way of recovering some expenses. The fundraising is not expected to resume until a contract is signed for the vessel.

This is Jason Daniels VK2LAW.

(BOUVET ISLAND 3YØK WEBSITE)

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FCC ADDS NEW CODE TO EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

NEIL/ANCHOR: In the US, the FCC has made some changes to its Emergency Alert System. Kent Peterson KCØDGY tells us what's in store.

KENT:  The Federal Communications Commission is hoping to add a new event code to its Emergency Alert system and will meet to consider the proposal on Wednesday, August 7th. The three-letter code, MEP, is designed to cover those individuals who are overlooked by existing codes, such as AMBER Alerts, which focus on abducted and missing children.

The MEP event code -- for missing and endangered persons -- would also be used in Wireless Emergency Alerts. The FCC believes the new alert code would fill a need to bring awareness to the thousands of people - mainly missing indigenous and native women - who cannot be located. Many tribal organizations in the various native communities have urged the FCC to activate the code. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said it would allow for  [quote] "a more rapid and coordinated response to incidents, and build on efforts by Tribal Nations, the Department of Interior and the Department of Justice, to collect comprehensive data on missing and endangered Indigenous person cases.” [end quote]

The FCC said that manufacturers of equipment used in the nation's Emergency Alert System will be given time to upgrade software and do whatever else is necessary to integrate the new code.

This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.

(RADIO WORLD, FCC)

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SUDIP KUMAR NANDA, HAM RADIO ADVOCATE IN INDIA, DIES DURING US VISIT

NEIL/ANCHOR: A retired public official in India who was committed to using ham radio to aid communication in remote regions has died in the United States during a family visit. We have details about him from Graham Kemp VK4BB.

GRAHAM:  Sudip Kumar Nanda had a long career in public service in his home state of Gujarat (GOO-juh-rott), focusing with public health and welfare foremost on his agenda. His efforts included overseeing relief provided in the aftermath of a 2001 earthquake and strong advocacy for blood donation and the Ayurvedic system of traditional medicine.

One of his most prominent contributions as a public servant was to introduce amateur radio in parts of the state underserved by traditional communication services. Following a cyclone in 1997, when he was serving as relief commissioner of the state, he promoted ham radio to ensure that hard-hit districts still had a means of communicating. He advocated again for amateur radio in 2001 following an earthquake in January. That same year the Gujarat Institute of Amateur Radio was created and with his extensive experience in disaster communication management, he was chosen as its chairman.

His radio contributions endured, especially in 2023 when Cyclone Biparjoy struck the state and the Gujarat Institute of Amateur Radio sent 38 hams to the state's emergency operation centre to assist with disaster communications.

He and his wife were visiting their daughter in New York at the time of his death on July 26th. Local media said the cause was cardiac arrest.

Nanda was 68.

This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.

(GUJARAT SAMACHAR, INDIAN EXPRESS, DESH GUJARAT)

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CANADA WILDFIRES PROVIDE PREPAREDNESS STRATEGIES

NEIL/ANCHOR: Although amateur radio was not taking a significant role as emergency-response teams battled the fast-moving wildfires in the Canadian province of British Columbia, the challenges facing western Canada have been providing some emergency communicators with a blueprint for going forward. Randy Sly W4XJ has that report.

RANDY: Even as they keep an eye in the wildfires threatening the west, the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services teams have been working on a comprehensive plan called PACE, for Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency, to address communications across Canada. Emergency disaster specialist for the Maritime Division of the Salvation Army, John Bignell, VE1JMB, told Newsline that the plan includes the critical role hams can play in disaster-response efforts. Toward that end, the EDS teams are studying IP linked systems such as Yaesu Fusion and Echolink and such technologies as Winlink so that traffic can be passed even when the communication infrastructure has suffered a failure. John told Newsline: [quote] : "We believe that by internal training and developing relationships with local hams and ham clubs in each region, we can significantly improve our disaster response capabilities." [endquote]

The Salvation Army EDS teams see this as an opportunity to deliver what could be needed in the future when a more extensive amateur radio involvement may be needed. Meanwhile, said John, the teams are collaborating with each division to develop a more comprehensive communication plan.

This is Randy Sly W4XJ.

(JOHN BIGNELL, VE1JMB)

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SPACEX GIVES DETAILS OF SPACECRAFT TO DE-ORBIT ISS

NEIL/ANCHOR: We reported recently that SpaceX had been awarded a contract from NASA for a spacecraft that is to deorbit the International Space Station in 2030, when its operational lifetime concludes. At a July 17th press briefing with NASA, SpaceX said it will help NASA accomplish this by creating an enhanced version of its Dragon spacecraft, known as the United States Deorbit Vehicle. It will be based on the original Dragon, but its trunk section will be redesigned and twice and long, with more thrusters.The final ISS crew will depart the station once the altitude reaches 330 kilometres, down from its present 400 kilometres as part of a natural decay in its orbit.

(NASA, AMSAT NEWS)

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FISTS 'MECHANICAL KEY WEEK' GETS UNDERWAY

NEIL/ANCHOR: There's still time to participate in "Mechanical Key Week," an annual celebration of Morse Code hosted by the FISTS CW Club. Participants started getting on the air on Thursday, August 1st and the week doesn't end until the 11th of August. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has more details.

JEREMY: The FISTS CW Club has been promoting the use of Morse Code on the air for 37 years. During Mechanical Key Week, hams are busy with their straight keys, cooties and bugs. Best of all, you don't need to belong to FISTS to be a part of this activity. Logs are due no later than the 7th of September.

FISTS is also known as the International Morse Preservation Society. It has chapters in Europe, East Asia, Oceania and the Americas. It was founded in England by George Longden, G3ZQS/GX3ZQS, whose callsign was passed on to the FISTS CW Club after he became a Silent Key in 2006.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(FISTS CW CLUB)

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BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the W9BCC repeater in Wausau Wisconsin on Sundays at 9 p.m. during the Rib Mountain Repeater Association's Sunday Night Swapnet.

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TELEPHONE MUSEUM HOSTS NEW HAMPSHIRE HAM RADIO CLUB

NEIL/ANCHOR: A popular telephone museum in New England made an important connection recently with a local ham radio club. Andy Morrison K9AWM tells us what happened next.

ANDY: Hams from the Twin State Radio Club, W1FN, had a chance to operate phone in a very different way recently. Dave Colter, WA1ZCN, and other club members visited the New Hampshire Telephone Museum on the 27th of July to give visitors a two-hour taste of amateur radio. Many of the visitors turned out to be hams themselves.

The program focused on amateur radio as a family-friendly activity with a strong public-service component - showcasing the wealth of technical advances being made every day.

According to Graham Gifford, the museum's director of programming, the amateur radio presentation was a natural fit for what is essentially a museum of communications. Although the Warner, New Hampshire building showcases a wide array of telephones and telephone history, the story it tells of different types of communication through the years extends beyond that. Previous museum events have included an after-school presentation this past April about the solar eclipse and its impact -- and a discussion about the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II.

This is Andy Morrison K9AWM.

(GRAHAM GIFFORD)
 
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RSGB CONVENTION CALLED 'FEAST OF AMATEUR RADIO'

NEIL/ANCHOR: Excitement is building for the RSGB convention to be held this fall. Jeremy Boot G4NJH gives us a preview.

JEREMY: The Radio Society of Great Britain is offering what its website is calling "a feast of amateur radio" at its convention in Milton Keynes this coming October. Once again, AMSAT's Colloquium will take place at the same time during the convention which is between the 11th and 13th of October.

The ups and downs of Solar Cycle 25 and the particulars of Sporadic-E are two of the propagation-related presentations being offered this year. Steve Nichols, GØKYA, chair of the propagation studies committee, will discuss the solar cycle and the predictions he made three years ago. Chris Deacon, G4IFX, will be exploring Sporadic-E and its use for amateur contacts. 

In all, there will be three thematic streams of presentations in the programme: Getting Started, Operating and Technical. For details, visit the society's website at rsgb dot org stroke convention (rsgb.org/convention). There is also a convention update in the August issue of RadCom, the RSGB's magazine.

This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

(RSGB)

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WORLD OF DX

In the World of DX, you have until the 6th of August to work Steve, ZL4CZ, using the callsign E51CZZ, and Steve, ZL2KE, using the callsign E51KEE, from Rarotonga, IOTA number OC-013, and Aitutaki, IOTA number OC-083. They are on 40-10m, focusing on 20, 15 and 10 metres. Their activity is holiday style. QSL via LoTW.

Listen for Randy, K5SL, on the air from Turks and Caicos as VP5/K5SL from the 14th through the 24th of August on the HF bands. He will be using CW. QSL via his home call.

Thierry, FY4JI, is active until the 10th of August from French Guiana as TO973FY. He is celebrating the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Listen on the HF bands where he will be using SSB and FT8. QSL via EA5GL.

Members of the Russian Robinson Club will be active from Ayon island, IOTA Number AS-038, in the East Siberian Sea, using the callsign RIØKA [R EYE ZERO KAY AY]  from the 12th through the 29th of August. Listen on various HF bands. QSL via RZ3EC.

(DX WORLD)

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KICKER: COLLEGE RADIO CLUB ETCHED INTO MEMORY - AND ONE WALL

NEIL/ANCHOR: For our final story, we visit a Pennsylvania college campus building under renovation. If the walls could talk, these walls would tell a story about a ham radio club of bygone years. Travis Lisk N3ILS brings us those details.

TRAVIS: Like hieroglyphics on a wall, these etchings tell a story - but this tale dates back to some not-so-ancient times: The wall etchings are callsigns of students who belonged to the campus amateur radio society at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, a club founded a century ago. Some remnants left by members of the now-defunct club were discovered on the walls of a fifth-floor room in a building undergoing renovation. The room was apparently used for storage; the shack, which had been in a number of campus locations, eventually was moved to the building's basement.

Following the discovery of the callsigns, the university contacted graduates of the college, including Daryl George, whose callsign as a student was WA3EMX, and Neil Wells, whose callsign is still K1UTV. Both are 1969 graduates and shared their memories in an article on the campus website. Both of their callsigns appear etched on the building's wall.

The club had a callsign: W3AEQ. Gary Wilson, K2GW, continues to renew it, a gesture of optimism that ham radio will be back on the air one day on campus in much the same way it first arrived through the efforts of students in electrical engineering and physics.

For now, the Lehigh University Amateur Radio Society exists only in the memories and the hopes of some of the school's graduates. It exists too in those FCC-issued letters and numbers firmly carved into the wall of a campus building so many decades ago.

This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.

(LEHIGH UNIVERSITY)

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DO YOU HAIKU?

Ah, the sweet words of a beautiful poem, they make the heart sing - and the well-chosen words of a well-written haiku guarantee good propagation. OK, maybe not. But why not pick up a pencil and join the Amateur Radio Newsline haiku challenge anyway? Share your experience by sending an original haiku to us here at Newsline. Use the entry form on our website, arnewsline.org and please follow the rules for writing your three-line haiku -- sorry but we cannot accept any entries that aren't written in traditional haiku form. Share with fellow listeners the poetry that is inspired by your ham radio experience!

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily; AMSAT News; ARRL; Bouvet Island 3YØK website; CQ Magazine; David Behar K7DB; DXNews; DXWorld; 425DXNews; FCC; FISTS CW Club; Graham Gifford; the Gujarat Samachar; John Bignell, VE1JMB; Indian Express; Lehigh University; NASA.GOV; QRZ.com; Radio Society of Great Britain; Radio World; shortwaveradio.de; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline.  We remind our listeners that Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us, please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our newscast, please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us. For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and our news team worldwide, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG in Union Kentucky saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.